Once upon a time (last year), ITV didn't want to do regional news any more, so a kindly Labour government prepared to lift the burden and let different consortiums, including newspaper interests, take it over. But Mr Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative's incoming secretary of state, was far more attracted to setting up city-local TV stations on the Atlanta or Dallas model, and scrapped Labour's plan this summer, asking the banker Nick Shott to examine practicalities.

Well, the Shott team is struggling to make sense of Hunt's passion as cuts and encircling gloom stunt ambition. Would HMG like to try a little pump-priming if it's so enthusiastic? Don't hold your breath. Maybe, in fact, expel it in a long, plangent sigh, as ITV, with a fresh team and fresh thinking in place, actually waxes enthusiastic about keeping local news (formats rethought) in its accustomed place. Mulberry bushes begin to have very little to add to this saga.